Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home can elicit mixed emotions. While it is incredibly exciting it also can be a bit nerve wracking. Worrying about credit scores, how to come up with an adequate down payment, and finding a home that the entire family can agree on, can quickly become overwhelming, a little maddening even. Fortunately, these feelings will eventually subside once all o the necessary documents have been signed and the agent has handed over the keys.

Buying My First Home

I remember when my wife and I were buying our first home. It was a cute, two-bedroom townhouse. Before we purchased it, we made the rounds, checking out several homes and thumbing through all of housing magazines we could get our hands on. Seeking out financing and getting pre-approval letters took some time and caused some anxiety. Waiting to see if our credit score was good enough and whether or not a lender would be willing to give us a loan wasn’t exactly fun, but it was necessary.

My first home buying experience was a while ago. It has since become considerably more difficult to purchase a home. In 2000, when my wife and I were purchasing our first home, lenders were freely giving out loans. You didn’t need to have perfect credit or even a down payment. The housing crisis of the 2000s put an end to relaxed lending standards.

Buying Your First Home Today

Today, you’re not likely to get a loan, unless you have very good credit and an increasing number of lenders are unwilling to give out loans without a substantial down payment. While this will definitely make buying your first home more difficult if your credit is less than perfect, the market is wide open for those with excellent credit and decent amount of disposable income. With the jump in foreclosures, it is possible to get a home for much less than it’s worth at a great interest rate.

Steps in Buying Your First Home

When buying your first home, there are few steps you’ll need to take. The first is to figure out your credit score. This will tell you two things, one, whether or not you are likely to be extended a loan and two, at what rate. After obtaining your credit score, you will need to start shopping around for loans. Be on the look out for the most inexpensive ones. These are those with a cheap interest rate and limited fees. Getting a pre-approval letter is often a good idea because it let’s sellers know that you are serious and that you actually have the money (or at least access to it) to purchase the home.

Buying your first home will be a memorable experience. Though it can sometimes be a bit maddening, it is a huge milestone that an individual should be proud of.

One Response to Buying Your First Home

I would have to agree with the post its a great time for young people to buy a home simply because their are so many places in the country where home prices have become attractive. Thirty year fixed rate mortgage rates are now under four percent. I can remember years back when housing was king long before the housing bust. Everybody had the expection that home prices would always increase. Even myself as far as that go’s almost believed in this fairy tale. And it was just that a fairy tale as long as it lasted. I don’t have the data in front of me but I think their was only one or two years from 1945 to the early 2000’s that national home prices declined. Their were pockets of weakness in texas during the oil bust of the 1980’s but over all prices increased steadly from 1945 to about 2006. One giant bubble